Novatek Deep Well Finds Commercial Gas near Yamal

Russia's biggest independent producer Novatek has successfully completed testing the Jurassic reservoir at well #135R on the West-Yurkharovskiy licence area.

As a result it has decided to start an exploration program and pilot production from this new project site as part of the Yurkharovskoe production centre, it said November 13. It did not say how it would market the gas. However the licence area is not in the LNG production area.

The horizontal well used multi-stage hydro-fracturing at a total vertical depth of 4,100 metres with abnormally high reservoir pressure of 820 standard atmosphere and co-mingled production from two separate Jurassic horizons. This was the first time such a well completion for an over-pressured Jurassic reservoir has been applied in Russia, it said.

Well #135R has been naturally flowing with a gas-condensate mixture flow rate of 650,000 m³/day for a total testing time of 10 days in a series of 22-hour flows. Novatek said the good results were due to its experience in horizontal wells with multi-stage hydro-fracturing and the reservoir pressure, which is double the norm.

William Powell